


Finding What Was Lost

by doenerkint



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Don't read if you haven't played TLOU2!, Ellie road to recovery, Ellie understands loss, F/F, Fix-It, Post-Canon, Post-Game, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 09:01:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24847225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doenerkint/pseuds/doenerkint
Summary: Ellie returns home to the farmhouse and comes to terms with what loss truly is. How will she redeem herself and honor the life Joel gifted her after causing so much heartache?Edit: I changed the tags for this story just to be safe, don't want to be whacked for forgetting later on.
Relationships: Dina & Ellie (The Last of Us)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 46





	1. Understanding Loss

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a day after completing the game. Goes to show how much it stuck with me. So this is more therapeutic than anything really. Also, this is my first try at fanfic, so please be kind. I'm planning on making this at least a multi-chapter fic, to give Ellie and her loved ones the depth they deserve.
> 
> Also, I don't own any elements of The Last of Us or any of its characters, those are the sole property of Naughty Dog.

Slowly but surely Ellie steps onto the field of wheat, the farmhouse…her home visible from afar. She stops in her tracks, unsure how to approach the place she had only left a couple of months ago, leaving a distraught Dina behind.

The old tractor still in the very same spot it had been when she left, suggesting that nobody had worked the fields since then as well.

“Did she leave?” she wonders aloud.

Taking a first step toward the house, Ellie begins moving forward again, with each step increasing the dread she feels, seeing no lights, no furniture on the front porch, or any sign of people living in it.

Reaching the first step of the porch she stops again to take a slow breath, turning around to take another look at the fields, the forest, and the faraway hills.

_So peaceful, why’d I ever leave this place? My home? My family?_

Regret and guilt spreading in her chest, she squeezes her eyes shut, rubbing her hand over her heart, trying to calm herself down.

_You’ve done enough. There are no lives that need taking, and there is nothing left you can bear to give away._

She opens her eyes again, dropping her hand back to her side. Turning back toward the house, she steps on the porch and knocks on the door.

“Dina?”, she calls out, hoping to hear a response. But the only response she gets is the wind blowing across the fields, giving her an eerie feeling of solitude. She moves her hand to the handle of the door and opens it, stepping inside quietly, as not to disturb the silence of the house.

The wood creaks under her weight as she slowly moves around the living room, a place now devoid of human touch, except for the one dining table and a couple of chairs Dina and she had received from Tommy when they moved in. Everything else is gone. Ghosts of her and JJ in her arms dancing to the music to playing from the vinyl player and of Dina setting their dinner on the table flash before her.

“Ellie, dinner is ready.”

Ellie jumps at the sound turning around to where she thinks the voice came from. There isn’t anyone there though, just the imposing quiet of the house. She begins moving again, only now she quickens her pace, as not be overwhelmed by the silence that has taken over completely.

She checks all the rooms on the ground floor, finding them void of anything. Moving up the stairs she finds nothing in the other rooms except for the closed door to her study. Opening the door carefully, she finds all her belongings in it just as she’d left it, as well as some additional moving boxes with her name on it.

Walking around in it, she looks at all the drawings she’d produced since she and Joel returned to Jackson all those years ago. Some were of him, some of them together, some of Dina and JJ, and then hidden under a pile of paper, she finds the drawings of Joel’s killer, Abby.

“How could everything turn to shit in such a short amount of time?”, she spoke to nobody. _No, I’m not going back to ‘what-ifs’ again._ Shaking her head, trying to throw off her negative thoughts.

She put the drawings of Abby and her friends back on the pile of paper and turns toward her guitar. The one Joel had found, restored, and taught her to play on, teaching her a fair amount of songs she could also sing along with. Her eyes become wet at the wonderful memories the both had shared over the time they’d spent together on the road from Boston to Salt Lake City and back to Jackson.

Thinking about it, she’d never been really upset with Joel about what happened at the hospital the fireflies used as the base of operations. Sure, she’d been upset at being lied to, even when she’d asked him to promise to tell her the truth. Truth be told, back then, she’d made her peace with her immunity. Before her infection and subsequent immunity, nobody had shown any real interest in her. That people became interested in her, after the fact, cemented a false sense of duty in her, that she’d held on to, thinking that otherwise people would either abandon or kill her.

Joel didn’t abandon her. Not when he had found out she was immune and neither when she had to die to help develop a vaccine. No, he killed her would-be killers because she mattered to him, not because she was special, but because he had truly cared for her.

_I miss you so much, Joel. Will I see you again when I die?_

Her eyes watered again, a strong sob escaping her lungs, shaking her entire body, bringing her down to her knees. She wrapped her hands around her now very slim frame, her skin feeling crispy from her week-old sunburn. Bending downward, her forehead touches the wooden floor, she begins to sob quietly, a sniff forcing its way-out in-between sobs.

_What do I do Joel? Dina and JJ are gone, Jesse is dead, Tommy will hate me when I tell him I let Abby go. Where do I go without you?_

Flashes of memories pass her mind, of her and Joel traveling cross-country, from walking in the woods, in abandoned buildings, from him telling her stories from before the outbreak and sleeping under starry skies and her showing off her astrology knowledge. She wanted to be an Astronaut after all.

_You never taught what it would be like to let you go. You didn’t teach me how to mourn you and move on. What do I do Joel?_

She’d hoped to find Dina and JJ still living in the farmhouse, it would have given her the chance to avoid all the people in town and their questions.

Slowly but surely her sobbing subsides, her breathing becoming normal again. Wiping her face and nose with her long sleeves, she turns to her left, to where the guitar was carefully placed toward the window.

_I haven’t played in so long._

She got to her feet, careful not to lose her balance, placing her had on the chair for support. Taking only a couple of steps forward, she reaches for the guitar in all its dusty glory. Running her now ruined hand along the strings from the neck, she tries to remember the chords to Joel’s song to her.

_Our song. Your legacy to me._

Slowly remembering the chords, she wipes the dusty wooden body, and places her still healthy hand on the strings, ready to play. She takes a breath and closes her eyes, trying to remember him again, playing the guitar on his front porch.

She remembers him playing and singing the song to her the first time, beginning to play and sing alongside him in her imagined duet.

_If I ever were to lose you_

_I'd surely lose myself_

_Everything I have found here_

_I've not found by myself_

_Try and sometimes you'll succeed_

_To make this man of me_

_All of my stolen missing parts_

_I've no need for anymore I believe_

_And I believe ‘cause I can see_

_Our future days_

_Days of you and me_

Her missing fingers causing a change in tune every so often and her voice barely a whisper, singing the lyrics that he’d written for her now seemed like a premonition he may have had. Like he’d known that the song was a silent prayer for more time together before the cruel world they’d lived in would come to reap his sins.

She places the guitar back to where she found it, against the window. Taking another look outside, realizing that it had gotten dark, she decides to head back toward Jackson. The woods were free of infected, she’d checked, and it wasn’t far away, it’d be just a couple of hours walking.

She goes around the room, taking a few important items and places them in her backpack, in case she might not come back here after all.

_Maybe they’d want me gone, after leaving Dina and JJ. Tommy surely might demand me gone._

Walking down the stairs and moving towards the door, she takes one last look at the life that she might have given up in vain. Opening the door, she steps out in the chilly night. Her steps slow but resolute, she walks toward the larger gate that connects to the dust road that would lead her to Jackson and hopefully to finding what she lost.


	2. Finding Meaning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellie returns to Jackson and faces the consequences of her choices.

It was pitch dark when Ellie arrived at Gate 3 of the Eastern part of Jackson, stopping around a hundred feet away from it, as she had been trained before announcing herself.

“Hey, don’t shot. It’s me, Ellie” she calls loudly.

A man she had known from her younger days moved the large searchlight toward her, blinding her so much she had to shield her eyes and avert her face away from it. A voice she recognized called out to her.

“Ellie?! Jesus, you’re alive! Guys, it’s Ellie! Open the damn gate.”

She hears a few voices speaking quickly, the gate creaking open exposing the city light behind it.

_I never thought I’d see it again. Jackson’s lights._

The searchlight was pointed away from her, back to its original position, facing the woods behind her. She began walking toward the now open gate, two people waiting inside for her.

“My God, Ellie. Where the Hell have you gone off to? We thought the worst.” the man she knows as Kevin, fusses. “We got to tell everybody that you’re back alive and well,” he says excitedly, before looking her over once more. “Well, mostly well, I guess. But that’s nothing that can’t be fixed.” He assures, placing his warm hand on her shoulder.

Ellie appreciates the genuine warmth she felt coming from Kevin. After the weeks and months behind her, she duly missed such kindness.

“I’d rather you didn’t announce my arrival yet. I don’t want to disturb the peace yet. There are a few people I’d want to see first before facing the others.” she asks tiredly.

Kevin and the other man, Peter, she remembers, look at her with understanding and nod accordingly.

“Sure, we can do that. Come on, go on inside. Go see your loved ones. I’m sure they’d be over the moon to see you alive and kicking.” Kevin says.

“Thanks, I owe you guys.” Ellie thanks them and walks on into town.

The place looked as clean as ever, devoid of the vegetation she’d seen in the outside world. Here she wouldn’t have to worry about infected surprise attacks, ambushes of hunters, or crazy zealots. Jackson was the safest place she’d ever been, and it still is.

 _But it didn’t keep Joel safe._ Ellie reminds herself.

Walking further into town, she sees people she knew giving her a surprised look, raising their hands to slowly wave at her. She raised her healthy hand to wave back, careful not to scare the children attached to their parents with her hand that misses two fingers. The parents ushered their children forward, probably back to their house. It was quite late after all.

 _I wonder what I look like now. Must be quite the sight when they are afraid to approach me,_ she figured.

Moving on she almost reaches the town center. It was quiet and calm, but not the kind she got used to outside of Jackson. No, it was the sort of calm, that still felt populated. Like a giant that slumbered.

_I guess I should at least tell Maria I’m back before I do anything else. Might have to sleep on her couch. How I miss sleeping in._

After a couple of turns and several cut-throughs, she reaches Maria’s house. It still had a light on in the kitchen. Ellie slowly approaches the door, the wooden stairs creaking under her feet, practically announcing her arrival at the door. 

Before she could knock, the door opens quickly to Maria looking at her with a mix of feelings, settling on a kind smile.

“You sure are a sight to these sore eyes, Ellie,” Maria says with moistness in her eyes. “Come here, let me hold you.”

Maria opens her arms and Ellie, who was on the verge of crying, quickly walked into the hug, embracing Maria with every strength she got left in her tired body.

“I’m glad you’re back. We had all but lost hope you’d still be alive. Glad you made it back in one piece.” Maria says into Ellie’s ear quietly.

After what seemed like an eternity, they carefully let go of each other, Maria's hands gliding down to Ellie's hands. Reaching the injured hand, Maria’s face twitches into worry and she looks down toward Ellie’s left hand. She raises her face back toward Ellie.

“Ellie, your hand. This looks like something bit them off.” she analyzes. “What did this?” she inquires further.

Ellie looks down to their hands, Maria’s thumb gently rubbing her stumps.

“Not what, but who,” Ellie corrects, after thinking quickly she adds, “Abby did that,” she admits.

Maria slowly nods and then continues, “So you found her?”

Ellie nods, looking down.

“And…”, Maria swallows, “did you find peace?”

Ellie raises her head to look at her, contemplating how to answer, deciding to go with the truth.

“No, I didn’t.”

Maria, understanding the response, inquired further.

“So, you found her where Tommy said she was? In Santa Barbara?”

“Yeah, she was still there. She and that kid she had with her in Seattle. It seems they stuck together after leaving Seattle.”

Maria, wondering if she should ask more, pressed further.

“Did you kill them both?”

Ellie looked at her, with the same look she had expressed when she let Abby and Lev go.

“No,” she begins, taking a moment to prepare the final truth, “I let them both, Abby and Lev, go.”

After uttering those words, Ellie closes her eyes, afraid of what Maria might say, only to feel arms wrap themselves around her slim frame again.

“I’m so proud of you, Ellie.”, Maria whispers into her ear again.

She decides not to ask Ellie any more questions on why or how things turned the way they did. She felt that Ellie had come to some sort of closure, that made her decide to let her rage go after all.

“Come inside, I prepared some food you can eat. I’ll go upstairs to make the bed for you.” She instructs, leading Ellie into the kitchen, taking her backpack off her, setting it down in the living room.

“I made some spaghetti with tomato sauce. I didn’t have enough time to make anything else.”

Ellie gave Maria questioning looks at that statement.

“You know Kevin, he can’t keep quiet about this stuff. He also felt you should have something to eat before going to sleep.”, Maria explains.

Ellie nods her understanding and begins to eat her food slowly, too tired to eat fast.

“When you’re done, just leave the plates on the table, I’ll clean up after you. Your bed should be ready then.”, Maria ensures, walking out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the upper floor, where Ellie hears her rummaging through drawers and cupboards.

The food tastes good in her mouth, it tastes different than how Dina made it, but it tastes good, nonetheless. Although, after what she had to eat the last couple of months, anything that was cooked and added with spices would taste great.

Finishing the food, she takes the plate and cutlery to the sink and washes them, deciding not to be more of a burden than she already was to Maria. After drying the dishes with a towel, she found hanging on the wall, she places them back into their place on the shelf and drawer. Leaving the kitchen, she walks up the stairs and into the only lit room insight.

“Hey,” Maria greets her, “it isn’t much, but it’s clean and comfortable. I hope you’ll find all the sleep you need in here. If there is anything else you need, I’m right down the corridor on the left.”

Ellie nods, “thanks, this is perfect. I might sleep for a week, though”.

“Sleep as much you need, Ellie. We can talk more once you wake up.” Maria assures her before wishing her good night and leaves the room.

Ellie closes the door with a light thud. Turning toward the bed, she sits down on it and begins to relax her body.

She knew that Maria wouldn’t send her away, at least not right away. So, this outcome was expected.

_What do I do from here on out? Do I go look for Dina and Tommy? Should I really force myself on them so quickly? No, I haven’t visited Joel in a while. He’ll surely like to hear what I have been doing lately._

Settling on visiting the cemetery the next day, Ellie begins taking of her clothes, throwing them on the floor and wrapping herself in the bedsheet. Sleep takes her almost instantly and deeply.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Waking up the next day, the sun had already turned a darker yellow, meaning it was already past midday. She long since forgot what day it is, since walking out in the wild didn’t require keeping a schedule. Depending on the day, the number of people in the town center would differ toward the end of it. She hoped it wasn’t the weekend yet. Making her way to the cemetery would otherwise become trickier than preferred.

Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she slowly gets up, respecting the sore body’s warnings about moving too quickly after such a good night’s sleep. It hurt, but it felt like kind of pain that she’d prefer over pain from missing limbs and gunshot wounds. She gets out of bed, opens the door to the corridor and walks down toward the bathroom, where she gets the first chance to look at herself in the mirror in months.

_Man, I look so fucked up. No wonder those kids gave me scared looks. I must have looked like a zombie (pun intended) to the others._

Looking at herself, she realizes that now she could finally have a good thorough _hot_ shower after having had barely any opportunity to clean herself. She had cut her hair based on the feeling of length with her switchblade, but other than that she hadn’t done anything toward keeping clean and healthy.

Looking around for soap and a towel she notices a set of fresh clothes on a chair, along with a note.

_I thought you might want to take a bath or a shower. These should fit you for now. Feel free to put your dirty laundry in the basket. – M_

Ellie smiles at the note, _of course, you’d think of everything._ She walks back to her room to collect her old clothes and throws them in the basket. She then takes off the rest of her underwear and steps in the shower, where she welcomes the hot water crashing down on her head.

_Fuck, how good this feels._

The hot water flowing down her body, taking with it all the grease, grime, and coldness with it, feels good. It feels like the last couple of months are being washed off her for good.

A flash of Joel’s beaten body flashes before her, forcing ice into her chest, to which quickly starts rubbing her arms and additionally increasing the hot water coming from the showerhead.

 _I’m fine, I’m alive. There are no lives that need taking, and there is nothing more I can bear to give away,_ she repeats her mantra whenever her feelings of loss seem to take over.

Once the cold seems to disappear from her heart, she quickly finishes showering, puts on her new borrowed clothes, and walks downstairs. The living room was filled with things that made it a home. Beautiful red curtains, a grandfather clock between windows, its ticking giving the house a sense of life that was so very amiss in her own farmhouse. The walls are covered in paintings much like Joel’s, except that his were focused on horses and Maria’s more toward landscapes.

Looking around she doesn’t seem to find anything that would indicate another person living in this house. _Where are Tommy’s things?_ she wonders, _did they fail to reconcile?_

She remembers that she has her own family to reconcile with, if they’d even let her, at least. She did leave Dina and JJ against their wishes after all. No Goodluck charm, no well wishes, no prayer for Ellie's safe return that time. It was an ultimatum, against which Ellie had chosen in favor of her renewed attempt at vengeance.

“Look at how that turned out, Ellie”, she tells herself, looking at her hand. _Fucking well, it did._

But she also reminded herself, that it was for the best this way. Joel wouldn’t have wanted a life of revenge for her. She just wishes she would have come to that conclusion much earlier, without all the heartbreak and further loss for all those around her.

_I should have listened to Maria then. She probably knew something I didn’t even then._

Accepting that it was time to make use of the bit of daylight that was left, she steps outside through the backdoor in the kitchen, the empty backyard with the high hedges serving as a perfect cover for her to sneak past others unseen. She isn’t ready to face Dina yet, nor does she want others to delay her from seeing Joel.

_Hm, I never walked from Maria’s to the cemetery. How exactly do you get there?_

Luckily, there is a city map close by that could help her find it. Jackson’s layout hadn’t changed even due to the outbreak. Maria made sure the city remained intact to keep the city’s infrastructure maintainable and easier to keep secure from intruders. She also fixed up the city maps that were rotting away during the early years of the outbreak.

Ellie really admires Maria for being such a principled person, and that despite her own grievances she continues to steam on. Giving those around her the feeling of normalcy. That the outbreak wasn’t why society had failed, but human agency. And if humans could destroy, then they could build.

Walking over to the map, she quickly summarizes that the cemetery was about a 10-minute walk away from Maria’s house. 8 if she hurried. She’d hurry, the sunset wasn’t far off anymore. She wanted Joel to be able to see her, even broken and bruised.

On her way there, she walks past people she knew from seeing, and then there were also new faces she’d never seen before. This happened a lot as Jackson had increasingly become a haven for those who sought out refuge from violent groups in other cities. Traders coming through would help spread the word that Jackson wasn’t small and that there was a real chance at a normal life. Jobs for adults, schooling for children, nurseries for infants, just like JJ would soon be ready for.

_JJ, my baby boy. What have you been up to since I left? Would you even realize I was gone? Would you remember me?_

Ellie chokes at the thought, that JJ might have forgotten about her. That, when she’d hold him, he’d cry out in fear of her. If Dina would even let her, that is.

Reaching the cemetery, she finds Joel gravestone to be well taken care of. As much one could for a piece of rock. She bends down to sit cross-legged in front of him. She notices a new set of flowers laid down on his grave. _Someone must have brought these just recently. Good, you’re not alone,_ she smiles.

Ellie begins telling him of her quest for revenge, her trek to Seattle with Dina to save/ join Tommy, and Jesse joining them, the war between the Washington Liberation Front and the Seraphites and finally about Abby.

“Abby was after you because of what we did to those people in the Hospital in Salt Lake City, “she explains, “That girl that hurt you, she was the doctor’s daughter whom you shot trying to take me back. She killed you because of us. Joel, you should have left me there to die. You’d still be alive now; Abby would still have a dad and everyone, Dina and Jesse and Tommy would be whole. If you’d only let me die, you all would have been better off.” Ellie covered her face with her hands, trying to hold back the tears from flowing out. A choke escaping her occasionally. “

“I couldn’t even go through with it. I had my fingers around her throat, squeezing down as hard I could and all I could think about is you. You and your goddamn smile, and your goddamn coffee drinking smirk and your goddamn wise-ass attitude- “unable to continue she closes her eyes and mouth and tries to calm herself down.

“Fuck, I hate this. This pain, Joel, this pain is worse than anything I’ve felt before,” Ellie began raising her voice, “why did you have to get yourself killed and leave me alone in this cruel world.”

“How do I even go on without you, to offer me a hand to pull me up, to offer your advice when I seem stuck, to reel me in when I run off the handle.” Ellie bends down similarly to how she did the night before in the farmhouse. Hiding away from the world.

“You find something to hold on to.”, a voice behind her spoke.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ellie opened her eyes, still bent down on the floor. She slowly straightens her back and turns toward the voice’s point of origin.

It was Dina, standing there, with a fresh bouquet of flowers in her hand. She continues, “Those who pass are never forgotten, for they are the ones who make us who we are and define what we stand up for. I remember Joel, as the man, who would burn down the world for you Ellie and you would do the same for those whom you love. But Joel also understood when to back away from a fight, if it helped keep you safe. Ellie, don’t seek meaning in his death through violence, but in staying alive for those who care about you. Joel would never have left you nor would he have dragged you with him to exact revenge.”

Ellie was speechless, not only did Dina show up out of nowhere, but she also had answered her in a way that was understandable. Like a kindred soul to another.

“Dina…”, Ellie begins but Dina raises her hand to stop her right there.

“You left me and JJ, Ellie. You chose to burn this bridge to make yourself feel better. You wouldn’t let me, and JJ try and take care of you. You pushed us back, when we, I, offered you my hand. After all we’ve been through, this,” Dina points at herself and Ellie, “can’t have been for nothing.”

Ellie remains quiet for a long time after. She couldn’t look Dina in the eye. She was right after all. She chose to leave them for petty revenge. They both needed her more than she herself needed revenge. And she still pushed them away.

“Get up,” Dina instructs, “get up and face me.” Her voice strong with emotion, but clear enough that this needed to be said. Ellie listens and carefully gets up, using Joel’s gravestone as a pillar of support.

“Tell me now, what do you want? Hm? What is it, that you want most in this world, right now? Right at this moment? Ellie, look at me.” Dina asks her seriously. Looking her dead in the eye.

Ellie stops looking at the floor and squares off her shoulders, taking a deep breath, thinking carefully about how to answer and then locks her eyes with Dina’s.

“I want you. I want you and JJ with me, for the rest of my life. I don’t want to ever leave again. I want to die of old age next to you. I want our son, Jesse’s son, to grow up without the fears that we’ve experienced. I want him to grow up and make friends, fall in love, and have children. I want to lead a meaningful life. I want to matter to somebody, not because I’m immune, or because I can fight.”

She takes another calming breath before she says one last thing.

“I want Joel’s gift, my life, to have meant something. That he didn’t save me and die for nothing. I want to do right by him, by you, by JJ and everyone we love.”

After Ellie finishes talking, Dina gives her a long hard look before dropping the flowers and pulling Ellie into a deep embrace. One that could have squeezed the life out of a child.

“I’m glad you’re alive, Ellie. I’m glad you came back and I’m glad you want the same things I want.”, she says teary-eyed.” I love you, you dumb shit.”, she adds quietly.

“I love you too.”, Ellie’s whispers back.

Dina pulls back her head and kisses her deeply, Ellie slowly returning the vigor of Dina’s lips. They remained in this intimate embrace for a while, taking breaks only to get air. After what seemed like forever, Ellie and Dina carefully let go of each other, each afraid the other might cease to exist once let go completely.

“You brought flowers “, Ellie states matter-of-factly, looking down on the fallen bouquet. “Who were they for?”, she asked.

Dina smiles at her, “For him.” She nods toward Joel’s grave. “I prayed and brought him fresh flowers every day, hoping he’d keep you safe well beyond the grave.” Glancing down, pushing a piece of stone with her foot, she adds, “He seems to have done well, don’t you agree?”

Ellie’s heart pounds stronger, spreading warmth throughout her body, at Dina’s words and actions. “Yeah, he kept me safe as usual.” She brings her injured hand to her chest, glad that for once, she didn’t have to calm herself.

“You know, “, Dina begins, turning toward the town, “there is this kid who’d really like to see his long-lost momma.”

Ellie's face lights up brightly at the mention of seeing JJ. She nods, “Yeah, lets”. Dina smiles at her answer, offering her hand to Ellie, which she takes.

“There is an upside to losing your fingers that I’ve just noticed”, Dina comments, while they walked together back into town. At her side, Ellie turns her head towards her, a brow bent down in question. “Now I have to hold on to you tighter, not to lose you.”, she explains. Ellie giggles at that.

“I like that.”

“What?”, Ellie asks.

“Your laugh.”, Dina states.

“Well, it was funny.”

“It wasn’t even a joke.”, Dina complains jokingly.

“I know, but you can’t deny the pun.”

“Yeah, well. Don’t go chopping off more parts of you, just to come up with dumb jokes.”

“Ugh, and here I was already planning to become a pirate.”

“Don’t even joke about that”

“A girl can dream.”

“You’re not a girl anymore, Ellie, you’re a mom now. You need to be serious if you want to successfully ground our son.”

“Hm, how about good mom, bad mom? I call dips on good mom.”

Dina smiles at Ellie, “Fine, but you better be the best mom there could possibly be.”

Ellie returns a smile at Dina, “I’ll do my best.”

Maria sees the two them walking down the road, hand in hand, smiling, laughing, talking, kissing. A normal couple in every letter of the word. It comforts her, that Ellie seemed to have finally found what she was looking for all these years.

_Your girl is doing well, Joel. She has found her place, her purpose, her meaning, her own happiness in this thing we call life. These are the only things we can strive for until the very Last of Us._

She walks over to the young couple giving them both a warm hug, joining them on their way home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it. Again, this is my first ever fan-fic, so if you find odd phrases or weird expressions, feel free to point them out to me. I needed to write something to give me some form of closure, as the end left me entirely unsatisfied.
> 
> If you liked my 'path', let me know and I might just try to add another chapter.
> 
> Cheers :)


End file.
